singapore is a fine city
Thursday, May 24, 2007 (3:16 PM)
it's an old joke saying singapore is a fine city but from where i am speaking, i think it's really fine to be a fine city.
i've met japanese friends who think that if one litters in singapore, it's a ticket to jail. do not pass go, do not collect $200. for some time, i had been wondering what gave them that idea (minus the passing go and $200) and thought it might actually be good that singapore is seen in this light. at least that could be a reason why the japanese typically do not litter (not supported by empirical evidence).
remember some time ago, australian national, nguyen van tuong was hanged for smuggling drugs past singapore borders and all the uproar over the death penalty saw some australians boycotting singapore. the reason for the boycott was not so much due to the death penalty but more of how it is carried out - by hanging. people think it's inhumane. sure it is. but that's not my agenda here.
i think about the fact that some countries do not practice the death penalty. the maximum one gets is probably life imprisonment. then you start to think, why does singapore impose the death penalty? is it too severe? i'm not here to judge but what brought me to this topic was an even more shocking news in today's straits times.
2 newly-promoted managers of a bank in china embezzled company funds. that probably doesn't sound like something that shocking (as in embezzlement) but what came as more of a shock is that, most of the sgd$10 million stolen were spent on lottery tickets. the reason? they thought they could win enough to replace the initial amount they stole. in the end, they realised they could only flee when they didn't manage to win which resulted in a nationwide call for their arrest.
as if that isn't shocking enough, straits times reported that, if convicted for corruption and illegal use of public fund, they would be executed. now aren't you glad that singapore is a fine city? of course in such circumstance you'd be jailed. just don't harp on passing go and collecting $200.